Deeplinks Blog posts about International Privacy Standards

Last week, the 34th Annual Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners’ Conference was held in Punta del Este, Uruguay. The event brings together international regulators whose mandate is to uphold individuals’ rights to privacy. Preceding the official gathering of data protection authorities was The Public Voice, a daylong event hosted by an international coalition of civil organizations, with the Electronic Privacy Information Center taking the lead on organizing events this year. EFF, a part of this coalition, delivered a presentation during a panel discussion about global developments in privacy standards.

On Oct. 16, European Union data protection authorities issued a letter to Google CEO Larry Page calling upon the search engine giant to revisit its privacy policy. Earlier this year, the policy was unified into one policy covering a wide range of different Google services and integrating data from Google search history and YouTube accounts. When Google first unveiled its new privacy policy, European regulators greeted it with skepticism and requested Google to delay instituting the revised policy. Google refused.

This international meeting brings together commissioners working on privacy regulation and personal data protection with experts, nongovernmental organizations, and academics focused on these crucial issues. The conference is held to foster exchanges and promote knowledge sharing. Discussions will cover data protection and e-Government, the role of technology in open government, issues surrounding geo-location, security of health records, online behavioral advertising, biometrics and more.

Courts are investigating the legality of a European Union regulation requiring biometric passports in Europe. Last month, the Dutch Council of State (Raad van State, the highest Dutch administrative court) asked the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to decide if the regulation requiring fingerprints in passports and travel documents violates citizens’ right to privacy. The case entered the courts when three Dutch citizens were denied passports and another citizen was denied an ID card for refusing to provide their fingerprints. The ECJ ruling will play an important role in determining the legality of including biometrics in passports and travel documents in the European Union.

EFF welcomes a strong voice in the fight against data retention mandates: on Wednesday, a group of Slovak MPs filed a complaint challenging the constitutionality of Slovakia's mandatory data retention law. The law compels telcos and ISPs to monitor the communications of all citizens including those not suspected or convicted of any crime, and in case law enforcement officials demand them for any reason.